Aggies’ victory over Baylor inspires Notre Dame

INDIANAPOLIS — When Notre Dame tips off against defending national champion Connecticut Sunday night in the second game of the NCAA Women’s Final Four, the Fighting Irish will keep in mind something that the Texas A&M Aggies accomplished in the Dallas Regional finals.

Second-seeded A&M ousted Brittney Griner and the top-seeded Baylor Lady Bears, 58-46. The victory came after Baylor had strapped three losses on A&M during the season.

It resonated in the Notre Dame locker room because the Irish have lost three times this season to the top-ranked Huskies, a rival in the Big East Conference.

“Oh, yeah, we watched that (A&M) game,” Notre Dame freshman forward Natalie Ochonwa said. “I think we’re using that game as motivation (against Connecticut). A&M lost to Baylor three times and they came back to win that game. That’s the mentality that we’re going to take as well. We’re not playing to get by. We’re playing to win.”

Ochonwa said she wasn’t really surprised that A&M beat Baylor.

“Not really,” she said. “Personally, I thought (the Aggies) were going to win. I think you can only beat a good team for so long. I think it was the mindset that Texas A&M came with. They weren’t going to lose. And you could tell that in the first few minutes of the game. They came out hard.